"They Died Free Men"

And part of me thinks of the psychological twisting that has taken place since then: people who blame their own country for the actions of barbarians; people who kowtow to the barbarians and claim to be multiculturalists because that sounds so much better than vile cowards; people who think that a country the size of ours, as wealthy as we are should do nothing to deter attackers because we’d be protected by our halo of purity and goodness.

But then I think of the other side of it, too. Our friends who pitched in to help me meet Dan on his way home. Our friends who gathered in our ratty movie room so we could be together. I think of our troops who fought the enemy there, so we wouldn’t fight them here. I think of the brave young men and women willing to lay down their lives for this country — for the last, best hope on Earth.